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My senior dog has a liver tumor, stopped eating, and drinks a lot.

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Dachshund | Female | spayed | 15 years and 1 month old

My 15 year old dog has tumor on liver, she stopped eatting, then started, now stopped again, she's drinking alot of water.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Christie Long, DVM

Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist

Published on January 30th, 2016

Liver tumors may or may not be truly "cancerous", i.e. Cause metastasis to other parts of the body and severe disease. Dogs can have benign liver tumors that don't metastasize, however they can get very large and impact liver function. There's really no way to know which type of tumor - benign or malignant - your dog has without a biopsy of the tumor. Ultimately the increase in water consumption is concerning, as polydipsia (increased water intake) can be a sign of severe liver disease. Some blood work would help to understand whether there is significant disease, as well as possibly an ultrasound exam of the liver. There may be medications that she could benefit from that would improve how she feels, however ultimately it's likely that addressing the tumor surgically - if that's even possibly - is the only way to definitively improve the situation.

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    Answered By Katie S

    Certified Dog Trainer

    Published on

    I would have the vet check her. It is very possible that she is regressing which could be caused by the Tumor or another underlying issue which now popped up.

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